Writing Prompt: Federalists vs Anti-Federalists
AP Politics & Government
Declaration of Independence, Brutus No.1, Federalist No.10, and National Governance
Background: Over this week, you have explored some of the various political philosophies that surrounded the founding of the United States. This was a difficult and laborious time for the extremely young country as there were enemies outside the nation, and rigorous debate within about how the country should move forward with a new structure of governance.
Task: Discuss the opposing philosophies regarding the adoption of the US Constitution and a stronger central government that would replace the Articles of Confederation as argued in Federalist No. 10 and Brutus No.1.
Within your essay you should make specific reference to:
Key issues that resulted in the United States rebelling/warring with Great Britain for independence.
Brutus No. 1 (Anti-Federalist)- Key issues/concerns highlighted by the author’s perspective. States vs. National Government. Issues surrounding a strong centralized government.
Federalist No. 10 (Federalist)- Key issues/concerns highlighted by the author’s perspective. States vs. National Government. Issues surrounding a weak centralized government.
Discuss both author’s interpretation on the influence factions would have over the national discourse (dialog/discussion) and governance (type of new government size/structure)
Cite evidence from the documents.*
Use reasoning to organize and analyze evidence, explaining its significance to justify your claims.
*Lastly, while you will be using evidence from the document, your paper should not be composed entirely of quotes from the Declaration of Independence/Brutus/Publius. Instead, these quotes should be used as a supplement to your analysis to help further prove/justify your positions.
